Guys, I registered my DK account in late 2003 expressly because of the Howard Dean campaign. I was 22 and it felt like we were going to nominate this actual liberal and run the table and he would demolish GWB and right the wrongs incurred.
We filled bats and made calls and wrote letters and I think generally felt something about politics again. Governor Dean led the polls everywhere — Iowa, New Hampshire, and beyond. Small donors powered the campaign in new and innovative ways. The campaign kept trumpeting how good its ground game was. We felt like we were outsmarting the other guys, who were still playing the game like it was 1996.
A few days before the Iowa caucus, Governor Dean went to Georgia and met with President Carter. The picture of the two of them looking “presidential” ran on the front page of newspapers far and wide. It felt right and it felt like we couldn’t lose.
And then the Iowa caucus came. The ground game never materialized like it should have. Dean got whipped by not only Kerry, but also by John Edwards.
And that was that. The campaign sputtered on for a few more weeks, but after NH it was very clear that the dream ended abruptly and dispassionately. And it hurt. A lot.
I have not really been paying attention to this election cycle. I know enough to know that I support Senator Sanders, but I can’t shake the feeling of that 3rd place finish in 2004. Part of me wants to believe that this time Iowa will get it right, but there’s just something in the back of my mind that makes me think that no matter what it looks like, Hillary’s got this one in lock.
How is it different this time around?